Clothing line uses celebrity approval Success story told at CLU

Two men behind the trendy clothing line Moods of Norway shared the story of their rise from a single Norwegian store to a global company with annual revenue of $30 million during a special presentation this week at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

Fashion designer Stefan Dahlkvist and Moods of Norway CEO Jan Egil Flo took an offbeat approach in their appearance Wednesday night as part of the School of Business (Re) Connections at CLU Series, with Dahlkvist sporting a bright pink suit and the pair poking fun at their humble Scandinavian beginnings.

“Moods of Norway has a slogan, Happy clothes for happy people, so everything we do has to be happy,” Flo told the audience gathered at the university’s Lundring Events Center.

Dahlkvist said the founding concept of the company was to combine traditional Norwegian themes and traditions with modern fashion to create a unique Norwegian brand.

In addition to designing clothes with eye-catching patterns and colors, the brand gets attention for playing on its Norwegian background.

This includes, for example, putting labels inside clothes that read “Inspired by fjords” or “Made in Europe by really, really pretty blonde girls,” and adding a “stitch your own reindeer” pattern complete with thread in its underwear line.

In 2002, Dahlkvist and fellow designers Simen Staalnacke and Peder Borresen started working on fashion designs and selling them at a store in the small town of Styrn. A year later they launched their first international collection, and since 2003 the company has grown every year, expanding to 10 other countries.

In 2009, Moods of Norway opened its first U.S. store, on Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

“It was a very big risk for us,” said Dahlkvist. “We wondered what to do to get some attention in Hollywood, so we brought in 5,000 tons of snow and had Norwegian cross-country skiing on the opening day.”

Dahlkvist said that courting Hollywood celebrities has been key to getting the brand noticed in the United States and that celebrity endorsements are vital to the brand’s success.

“When you try to do something small and try to make it bigger, it’s better to work with people already recognized around the world,” he said.

The company has also signed with Creative Artists Agency to explore licensing deals with other major brands.

“Fashion can never be static; that’s why it’s a very difficult market” said Dahlkvist.

CLU junior Sasha Voinovich, 20, said she was impressed by what the company has achieved in such a short period.

“I think they’re going to be a lot bigger than they are right now, because they’re really innovative,” she said.

“That No. 1 goal to have fun while expanding the brand seemed like the X factor for the company as it grew. And just the idea of taking the history of Norway and throwing it into a modern brand was really cool,” said marketing and communications student Gannan Smith, 20.